


Post Civil War

by izumi2



Series: Irrefutable Evidences [3]
Category: Justice League - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Civil War Team Iron Man, Cousins Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne, F/F, F/M, Feels, Female Tony Stark, Gen, Guilt, Not Steve Friendly, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Pro-Accords, Protectiveness, Tony Stark (Earth-3490), Tony Stark-centric, everybody needs a hug, so he won't get any hugs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-26
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-09-20 01:37:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9469664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/izumi2/pseuds/izumi2
Summary: This will be mainly one shots (more like plot bonnies) that can be read separately because I am lazy and I don't wanna do this all over again.Many times it will cross-over with DC, as tags (that I will add on) indicate but sometimes just Marvel, it will be on the chap summary or notes when it's DC and Marvel and when it's only Marvel and what to expect of the chap.Main Pairing: Bruce Banner/Toni Stark.Post-Captain America Civil War;Team Iron Man (in this case Woman).PS-New edit: so, this is a mess, I agree: not really one-shots or short stories but more like 'plot bunnies', better description...





	1. Maria Carbonell and Martha Kane Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have read quite a few fics about Bruce Wane/Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne & Tony Stark, their personalities are not that alike but they do have one thing in common:
> 
> Genius, Billionaire, Playboys, Philantropist...
> 
> And I thought... yeah...
> 
> Pairings: Bruce Banner/Toni Stark
> 
> Physically they resemble their comics counterparts, so:
> 
> Toni Stark (Courtney Henggeler); 31 years old and 5'10;
> 
> Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo); 32 and 5'10 (according to Marvel Database).
> 
> Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale or Ben Affleck, they were both pretty good, so take your pick) would be 36, and according to DC database, he is 6'1...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cousins Bruce Wayne and Toni Stark (Earth-3490)
> 
> Main Pairing: Bruce Banner/Toni Stark

“I understand, she will be safe with me” Bruce exchanged a few more words before hanging up with a sigh, “Alfred, prepare four guest-rooms”

“Will it be for more or less than a week, sir?”

“Just a couple of days to properly heal, after that she will need protection from the entire world and there is only one place where that is possible”

~*~

The tired and pale looking woman that got out from the black car wasn’t the grinning and tanned young girl that Alfred remembered; life shaped her in horrible ways, betrayal torn her heart apart too many times and it seems that Master Bruce would no longer stand for it. Good.

“Ms. Anastasia” Alfred counted it as a win that she still reacted with a comical grimace at her full first name even if it was waned and barely a twist of the lips.

“Hi, Alfred” she didn’t even try to force a smile out and Alfred had to suppress his own scowl at the defeated picture she made.

“I take it that Dr. Banner and Mr. Parker will be arriving shortly?”

“Yeah…he…Bruce is taking the jet from Tokyo, Donnie is with him and Peter will just talk to his teachers before coming” nodding, the butler took the bags while Mr. Hogan carried a sleeping Royce Keener inside, her long blonde hair a mess and Harley Keener following tiredly behind.

~*~

“Toni will be safe there” that was the chant that Pepper was almost breathing for and all Rhodey could do was nod and try to get her to loosen up the grip she had on her StarkPad.

Ever since Carol managed to get a squad out to Siberia and retrieved a severely debilitated Toni Stark, Pepper’s hands didn’t stop shaking, so much to do and so many heads to roll, she almost snarled at the state her friend was in.

But Toni was Toni and before she was even fully healed, she finished Rhodey’s prosthetics, managed to push the first amends on the Accords and finished the last batch of projects from SI board, it wasn’t until the woman collapsed not only from exhaustion but also because of the absurd quantity of energy and nutrients that the Extremis was draining from her in order to heal her body that Pepper decided that enough was enough, Rhodey had a lot on his plate with physical therapy that left him heaving four times a week and still dealing with his situation in the Air Force since he was relatively back on his feet, Carol was working tirelessly on the Accords and still working for the Air Force, her new rank of Colonel barely gave her enough free time to sleep and eat. Who else was left?

Vision was still working on his own set of issues after what happened in the Compound and the airport and Peter was 16 fucking years old who almost lost the last family he had left.

But Tony **_had_** other family left, didn’t she? Maria Stark nee Carbonell had a cousin through her mother, Martha Wayne nee Kane and she also had a child, Bruce Wayne. Pepper managed to get the full story out of Rhodey.

Bruce Wayne and Toni were pretty close; he was almost five years older but by the time Toni skipped enough grades to get into MIT, Bruce was also accepted into Princeton. Maria Stark brought Toni to spend a week every other vacation in Wayne Manor even after Wayne’s parents died and they spent college years alternating between Princeton and Boston. They had a huge fight that not even Rhodey knew what it was about and they never spoke again, then Bruce went missing for years after graduating, no word from him until he showed up out of nowhere back on Gotham at 25 years old, they still had each other backs. Pepper knew that Toni bought many WE shares when Earl made the company public, one of her very first acts as SI’s CEO then Wayne bought them back from her.

Pepper also knew that Wayne and his influence was one of the very few things that allowed Rhodey to keep looking for Toni in Afghanistan and then he also bought a lot of SI shares when they dropped to hell level after Toni’s impromptu decision to stop manufacturing weapons so Toni could buy them back later that same year.

But that one big fight was 15 years ago, before Pepper met Tony but she was desperate enough to call him with Rhodey completely unsure about the whole thing behind her.

Yes, Bruce Wayne didn’t have a very good fame but to be fair, Toni didn’t either and if there was one thing that the media loved was to have someone to hate and Rhodey said that he trusted this guy even if his answer as to ‘why’ was a little iffy.

Whatever it was, Wayne was nothing but serious and solemn and…strangely well informed of the whole situation, Pepper frowned a little now that her heart wasn’t racing and her ears weren’t ringing.

After getting the blandest ‘ok’ Toni ever gave her for the plans Pepper laid out, her fists still shook at that, Pepper shipped her off with Happy, Harley and Royce. Pepper would give some excuse to Peter’s teachers and he would be off too, Dr. Banner was on his way back to the states with little Donnie and they would also go to Gotham, she shuddered, right, Gotham, the criminally insane infested city, thankfully Wayne said that they wouldn’t stay there for long, just enough for him to wrap things up with his own CEO. Rhodey have known and protected Toni long before Pepper was in the picture and if the Colonel has yet to say anything against what she was doing then Pepper knew that at least Toni will be with people that would look out for her.

~*~

Bruce Wayne stopped just shy of knocking at the door, Harley and Royce were already in their respective rooms, both passed out since it was almost 2 am when they got here but he knew that his cousin was still awake, years of experience with Toni, especially in college years taught him that, so he was shocked to the point of gawking that the 31 year old was in deep slumber, still in her grey matching suit and black stilettos, her hair still full of clips and twisted in a bun.

He paused at the door for a second before going in and taking off her shoes and carefully doing the same with the many hairclips holding her long threads in place and looked at Toni in person for the first time in a decade and a half. So much had changed. Not only their lives but they, Bruce Wayne and Toni Stark changed too much from the people they were before Batman and Iron Woman.

Toni would probably say that his personality didn’t change much and she would be right but now he had other reasons for his reticence, in that aspect, Toni changed a lot more. She was a lot more reserved now, kept her cards a lot closer to her chest, too many knives still sticking out of her back, her wounds still bleeding and yet she was still fighting, still trying to gain the approval of people so infinitely unworthy of her, perhaps not anymore right now. She was the prime example of ‘the more things change the more they remain the same’ maybe this whole nightmare is what she needed to get a little of the weigh off her shoulders.

He shook his head, only Toni to make him sound optimistic.

For now she needed a safe place, Bruce would wait until her godson gets here and her husband, he almost snorted, of course the infuriating girl would marry someone with the same name as him, not that he was narcissistic to the point of thinking that this was even a reason but he couldn’t help the thought that Toni probably took some amusement out of it.

He looked at her again. She was thinner, most of her muscle mass was gone, her cheekbones a little more pronounced, her tanned skin gone, shadows so dark under her eyes that looked more like the result of a punch than too many sleepless nights.

Bruce closed his eyes and still could remember the happier times before all those deaths, long before either of them tried to protect those that couldn’t protect themselves. After that night when he was 10…it hurt to even look at Aunt Maria, they didn’t look much alike, his mom and Aunt Maria, the same kindness reflected in differently light colored eyes and straight blonde hair and elegant way of carrying themselves, not much more than that but enough to make his heart twist painful every time he stared at her and then… she was also gone and Bruce wasn’t even in US to be there for Toni and he doubt that she ever fully forgave him for that, he didn’t. She was already raging mad that he just up and left without saying a word to her…or even Alfred for that matter.

All he could do now was try harder and be better and comfort himself with the thought that if she was so averse to the idea, Toni would never have come to Gotham and to Wayne Manor even if a little voice inside his head singsong that she wasn’t exactly in a state of mind to care much for **_where_** she was.


	2. Maria Carbonell and Martha Kane Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation:
> 
> Main Pair: Bruce Banner/Toni Stark
> 
> DC crossover (Bruce Wayne and Toni Stark Cousins)

Bruce Banner readjusted his grip on the toddler, the six months old was a little cranky but thankfully seemed to take after Bruce as far as lung capacity went. They would be arriving in New Jersey in a little more than half an hour, Happy would probably be waiting already, as always, to take them to the other side of the city, he sighed but knew that Toni was right when she asked him to take Donnie away if things turned too sour during the Accords discussion, politics have a very delicate balance…neither of them predicted just how bad it would be. On one hand, Bruce was thankful for his wife’s foresight since the debacle that took place was hardly a place for a toddler, on the other hand he felt guilty for not being there for her… again.

“Sir, we will be landing in five minutes” the flight attendant warned him before going back to the cockpit.

Carefully putting Donnie in the baby chair strapped to the huge seat of the jet, Bruce buckled him up before doing the same, he had never liked flying but the SI jet was so smooth that he barely even felt a thing taking off or landing. Getting out of the jet with Donnie securely in his arm, Bruce was unsurprised to see Happy at the end of the stairs, the black Mercedes with its truck open as was the back door.

“Good morning, sir” he whispered when Bruce carefully made the last couple of stairs trying not to wake the baby.

“Morning” he replied taking a quick look to his wrist watch, 5 am, god.

“We will be arriving at Wayne Manor just before 6, there should be no traffic” Bruce nodded and eyed the baby seat already installed in the black car, he has been living Toni’s lifestyle for four years now but there were times that he was still amazed how money buys efficiency.

He must have nodded off because the next thing he knows Happy was waking him up and announcing that they would be arriving in three minutes. Rubbing his face, Bruce automatically checked Donnie to find him deeply asleep, good.

As he expected, it was even bigger than he pictured, old styled and very well kept, not much unlike the mansion that Toni grew up in New York but the bricks were light in color, cream and grey, sharp edges, six floors and the windows were wider, whereas Stark Mansion has the classic red bricks, with round towers, narrower but longer windows with seven floors even if it occupied less square meters of the land. The gates were also similar, metal with the family insignia, both buildings far away from the rush of the city they resided in, the courtyard also had a very large pathway with more than enough space for many cars, both properties surrounded by trees and not much else.

At the manor’s entrance an older gentleman in an impeccable suit greeted them with a thick British accent, “Good morning, Dr. Banner, my name is Alfred Pennyworth and I am the butler of the Wayne family, during your stay you may call me at any time should any need arise. Ms. Anastasia have already settled along with Ms. And Mr. Keener, Mr. Parker also arrived not long ago with Colonel Rhodes being kind enough to pilot a Quinjet” he blinked at that and was immediately reminded of Edwin Jarvis of the few tapes Toni allowed him to watch of her childhood adventures, he briefly wondered if they ever met.

“Thank you and good morning too, Ja- Mr. Pennyworth” he coughed embarrassed and already feeling the blood rushing to his face, thankfully the man didn’t say anything and his face didn’t even twitch but there was an amused glint in his eyes that wasn’t there before and that already answered his question of whether or not he ever met Edwin Jarvis, “Please, I insist in being called Alfred”

“Ah… then Bruce is fine”

“That would be highly improper” without saying another word, Alfred once again took a bag and carried it inside the Manor.

Bruce turned to glare at Happy and his poorly disguised laughter.

~*~

Harley awoke with a start and for one moment he didn’t know where he was, the layout made him think about Stark Mansion but the colors were all wrong and his new posters weren’t there and instead of a balcony there was a widow so big that was almost the whole wall. And then he remembered.

Toni coming back from the hospital looking like a ghost, covered in bruises but still woke him and Royce up for school, made breakfast for them, said goodbye when Happy took them to school, went to SI, worked in the lab and then helped with their homework, mentored Peter. Harley and Royce and Peter didn’t stop worrying, though the bruises began to fade after glowing orange in irregular intervals, Toni continued to get thinner and more and more tired. Harley felt that he could breathe again when he heard Ms. Potts talking to Toni about spending time with Bruce, at first, Harley thought they were talking about Bruce Banner, Toni’s husband that did his very damn best to be as far away from New York as possible.

Instead, he spent his time in the newly constructed Malibu mansion that Pepper insisted ‘no, Toni, we will not build in the same place, remember that you gave your address to a terrorist?’ even if it was almost the exactly same building as the one that was destroyed, just bigger, he was working for Stark Solutions since the headquarters was in California anyways, on the other side of the country.

Harley knew why too: Scarlet Witch and what she did in Johannesburg and then Rogers just stretched the red carpet for her and the few ones that had anything to say about that had to shut up and take it. He scowled, in the months leading to the ‘Civil War’, Bruce and Toni’s talks kept getting tenser and graver and Bruce finally agreed to get at least Donnie, their three months old son to the other side of the world, the fact that they had a child was not known to the public, not even known by the other Avengers but it was easier to leak than the fact that Toni had two adopted children and a godson too, a lot harder to link Peter Parker, Royce and Harley Keener to Toni Stark than it was to link Donnie Stark-Banner to Toni Stark that according to the world has always been ‘closer to Bruce Banner than to the rest of the Avengers, romance in the air?’ Harley scoffed.

It was then that eavesdropping, and Harley still maintain that if Toni does it how come he can’t do it too, that he learned about Bruce Wayne, he heard about him from time to time, if only because he is one of the very few that could rival the ‘Stark Empire’ and his ‘billionaire playboy’ persona was often compared to Toni’s ‘billionaire party-girl’ days. She hasn’t had the time to even **_be_** in an actual party for the last two years not that people cared about that.

Giving silent thanks that his sister was sleeping and thus unable to hear just how tiredly Toni answered Ms. Potts. Harley texted Peter that has been planning to go to college after the summer and studying like hell to get his high school diploma in time, after they talked about what happened and the little that Peter knew because of his part in the airport in Leipzig, he decided that one more year of school wasn’t going to kill him.

Jumping out of the bed, Harley was already more or less used enough to the opulence to know the layout of places like this. Sure enough the bathroom was right beside the huge TV set.

~*~

Royce yawned and ate more of her cereal; she became more awake when Toni entered the kitchen, she was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans shorts, her hair in a quick braid but she looked better, Royce decided with a firm inner nod.

“Morning, Toni”

“Morning, Goldilocks” she was kissed in the forehead just as the man that introduced himself as Alfred and poured her cereal got to the door.

“Good morning, Ms. Anastasia”

Royce watched with some interest how Toni’s shoulders twitched, “Morning, Alfred”

“‘Ms. Anastasia’?”

“Yeah…no one calls me that anymore… my full name is Anastasia Antonia Stark, my…mom…called me ‘Toni’ and I prefer that” Toni smiled at her and Royce immediately felt better, she has been very sad lately.

“Anastasia Antonia…” Royce tested the name, a smile growing in her face before she squealed, “It sounds like a princess’ name”

“Indeed, doesn’t it?” Alfred was too British to throw Toni a triumphant grin but Toni knew that this is what he wanted to do.

She rolled her eyes and waited for the coffee to be served, knowing better than to just take it since last time Toni had to endure a snippy cold shoulder for taking away his work in a completely ‘improper’ manner.


	3. Maria Carbonell and Martha Kane Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation.

“Morning, Bruce” she greeted casually much to Alfred’s surprise since they haven’t seen each other for almost half their lives and Master Bruce came home from his nightly adventures quite late the night before, he turned also with a ready greeting and didn’t even miss a beat when it wasn’t the ‘Bruce’ he was expecting, “Good morning, Dr. Banner” and turned back to his task of grinding the grains of coffee. This might present a problem and awkward situations in the future, he thought to himself even if Alfred was sad to even think that, in normal circumstances, Ms. Anastasia would have enjoyed the confusion, now she didn’t even acknowledged the potential for mischief that opened.

“Good morning, Toni, Alfred and good morning, Royce” he stretched his arm to mess a little with the girl’s bright blonde hair much to her chagrin.

Bruce was completely baffled when Alfred simply took the plate and the cup much faster than he thought anyone should be capable of before he could even completely reach for said items but the message was clear: Alfred would do it not him, once again ignoring laugher at his expense, this time from his adoptive daughter, for not knowing what a butler even **_did_** , he took the seat next to Toni to wait for his breakfast, four years ago that made him uncomfortable, nowadays it just made him sigh a little and he had to admit that sometimes it was good to be pampered.

Dressed in his usual button down with the sleeves rolled up and social pants, he stole some glances at his wife, worried about the stress lines and deep shadows, the pale skin and the way her clothes sagged a little from her shoulders. But he had to admit that comparing it to the image he had of her from a couple of days ago when they video chatted she actually looked better and then he winced for the fact that how she looked **_now_** was actually an improvement.

“Master Bruce regrets that he will be unable to attend today’s breakfast” Alfred broke the silence while putting a plate of hash browns and a huge omelet down along with two mugs, one coffee and one tea.

They thanked him and Bruce would have been impressed that he didn’t even have to say anything about his preference but cringed a little at ‘Master Bruce’ even as he felt better when he saw Toni’s lip twitching a bit with his reaction, this will be so weird.

“Mr. Wayne is your cousin right, Toni?” Royce turned to the woman whose eyebrow raised a little.

“Second cousin to be more specific, who told you that?”

“Ms. Potts said that we would be staying with your cousin for a couple of days before he takes us to another place of his”

Toni grimaced; it should be her to explain the situation to her kids instead of relying on Pepper… again, “What is a second cousin?” Royce asked after a moment.

“Our mothers were cousins, my grandma and his grandma were sisters, that made our mothers cousins and that makes us second cousins” she explained when Royce still looked a little confused.

“How come you never told us about him?” she was curious, Toni was always open and she never seemed annoyed with all her questions, even daddy sometimes rolled his eyes at how much she talked but to be fair, Harley talks as much as she does.

“You never asked” she smirked a little at the girl that was pouting now.

“Do you have any other family, Toni?” that made the billionaire pause a little.

“Through my mother, Bruce Wayne is my second cousin as is Bette Kane but we only meet in family functions and…it’s been a while since the last one, because of the age gap between us we are not close, uh, Kate Kane is another one, I kinda miss her to be honest, and then I have a couple of relatives through marriage, through my father’s side, I have an uncle, he lives in German with my cousin and I also have a brother”

Bruce knew all that so he barely even glanced up, he was more surprised by the fact that Toni could have steered the conversation off of family entirely, she has never liked to discuss them and after what happened, it must be excruciating talking about it, reviewing the conversation in his head, he realized that Toni was more numb than anything else, so whatever pain, or more likely, displeasure she might feel about the subject was on the background for now, he could only hope that when the wave finally crashes, he would be able to help her.

“What are their names? What do they do?” Royce was bouncing in her seat, she didn’t know that Toni had other family, since their adoption, they got used to seeing Colonel Rhodes, Ms. Potts and Happy, sometimes Colonel Danvers visits with Colonel Rhodes and sometimes Dr. Cho comes to talk with Bruce about boring work but mostly it has been Harley, Bruce and Toni in the Malibu Mansion. And Peter but he wasn’t even there most of the time since he went to school in New York so he stayed at Stark Mansion and Toni alternated between Malibu and New York.

Royce would never say anything to Harley but she often got lonely back in Rose Hill, it was always just them and daddy and daddy was always working.

“My uncle is Edward Stark, he sold his part of Stark Industries to my father because of lack of interest in the business world and became a politician in German, he is a philanthropist and works alongside the government as a consultant now that he is retired, his son, my cousin, is called Morgan…our relationship is complicated, we have never been close, not even as kids, he is working for Siemens, it’s an electronic company, last I heard he made his way to the board of directors” she stared at her coffee before taking a sip.

The nine year old mulled over this, “And your brother?”

“He is my older twin and his name is Arno, right now he is preparing to leave the hospital. There were… complications in his birth so he spent all his life in a hospital but now he is better but still has to go slow” she explained before Royce had the chance to ask.

“Will we meet them? What about your… relatives through marriage?”

At this Toni had to smile a little, it felt strange in her face, “One day perhaps, my Uncle Edward probably, not sure about Morgan, Arno will want to, Bette and Kate…I am not sure, it’s been many years. Bruce has an Aunt and a Granduncle, Agatha and Silas Wayne, I met her only once…it was an interesting experience and Silas babysat me once when I spent my summer vacation here”

Satisfied with her answers, Royce’s eyes landed on Bruce next who let out a sigh at her expectant look, “I also have a cousin, her name is Jennifer and she works for Stark Industries, climbing her way up actually. An Aunt, Susan Banner and an Uncle through marriage, Morris Walters he is a sheriff, we…it’s been a while since we met”

Nodding to herself Royce was interrupted by her brother, already showered and changed, dirty blonde hair dripping wet much to Alfred’s displeasure, “Good morning, Mr. Keener”

“Morning…Alfred, right?”

“Indeed, sir” he put a hot chocolate in the counter just as Peter dragged himself into the kitchen.

“Well but don’t you redefine the meaning of ‘sleeping **_beauty_** ’?” Harley teased the older teen that managed to grunt out something definitely impolite.

“Good morning, Mr. Parker” Alfred ignored the teenager banter with a lighter feeling; he didn’t think he would have that with Master Bruce’s current relationships.

“Er…morning…”

“My name is Alfred Pennyworth, you may call me Alfred” he placed a second cup of hot chocolate at the table, ignoring the incredulous look Peter threw towards Toni who just shrugged.

Another pitter pater of socked feet and Master Jason froze at the door at so many strangers, “Good morning, Master Jason, Master Bruce won’t join us for breakfast today”

“Uhum”

“Those are Master Bruce’s guests, Dr. Banner, Mr. and Ms. Keener and Mr. Parker and Master Bruce’s cousin, Ms. Anastasia”

“Toni is fine” at the tired voice, Jason's head snapped towards the only woman.

Of course he knew who she was, and who Dr. Banner was but…they looked so different from the last time he saw them on the news.

Toni Stark was always in an impeccable professional suit, sometimes flashy like the red and gold one from her first ‘post-Iron Woman Revelation’ but more often dark blue tones, black, grey, sometimes white… when she wasn’t in her metal badass, he had to admit, Iron Woman suit. And then Jason sometimes saw her in one of those long dresses, always with a very vibrant red lipstick and a cheeky smile that reminded him a little of Bruce Wayne ‘playboy’ persona, but hers was sarcastic while his was airheaded. She was wearing an ACDC black t-shirt that was a little too big and jeans shorts, barefoot and a messily braided hair, unlike on those, very funny, interviews, gala functions or when she was out flying around, she looked exhausted. Too pale and with the look of someone that hasn’t slept in days.

Bruce Banner on the other hand was looking healthier. Jason still remembered the interview in 2012 after that alien invasion in New York, he had just been adopted and Bruce – he was still ‘Mr. Wayne’ back then – was watching TV with an expression that he later learned to identify as concern. Dr. Banner looked haggard and beaten down, in ill-fitting clothes, worry lines all over his face and with shadows so deep under his eyes that it looked like he would pass out at any second, to be honest he looked a lot like how Toni Stark is looking right now, the only difference is that instead of looking pale as a ghost, his skin showed marks of constantly being in the sun, now he only had a healthy tan, back then he looked like someone already past middle age and he was what? 32? His face smoothed out too, dressed in expensive looking clothes and his hair well combed into dark brown curls.

Jason eyed the kids. One was a young girl, younger than 10 he was sure, long light blonde hair that was brushed away from her face, still in pink pajamas, the boy next to her looked his age, 13 or so, dirty blonde hair almost as curled up as Dr. Banner’s, already dressed in a t-shirt and jeans and the older one wasn’t much taller than him, younger than Grayson, he was sure. Dark brown hair, just a shade lighter than Dr. Banner’s, straight and clearly he just woke up and came down to the kitchen because it was still a mess.

“Hi, my name is Royce” the girl introduced herself, looking at him curiously, “Jason” he took the plate Alfred offered and decided to just roll with it.

Life was weird; having breakfast with people he never met had nothing on spending his nights in a traffic light colored costume.


	4. Maria Carbonell and Martha Kane Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation

Finishing breakfast, a single toast and two cups of coffee much to Bruce (Banner)’s disapproval, not to mentioning Alfred’s, Toni hopped off the stool.

“I will need to see what your teachers gave you for homework” she glanced at Royce, Peter and Harley.

Peter barely managed to lift his head from his plate, “Ms. Potts talked to the principal and my grades are good enough that I can just deliver the last few papers any day during summer for me to graduate, even if my final grade in Spanish will suffer a little because of the classes I will miss”

Harley went next, “Had some problems with the lit teacher, I will miss final exams and I also have a final essay for history, teacher said that if I go for a couple of weeks during summer vacation, I will keep my grades up”

Toni looked at Royce that groaned, “I have been slipping in math but Ms. Potts convinced the teacher that if I did a list of exercises and showed it to him, I could retake last week’s test, and in English I have to read some poems and write a text of what I understood”

The billionaire nodded and without another word went back upstairs.

~*~

It was almost noon when Bruce Wayne woke up with a start and promptly threw his sheets aside; he had a lot to do today.

After being almost forced-fed by Alfred, the Batman made an appearance in the League’s Watchtower, as he expected the only ones there were Hal and Barry, the ones most likely to put their foot on their mouth.

“My cousin and her family will stay here for a couple of months and she will use the east wing, do **_not_** bother her” with that he went back to the Zeta Beam and to Gotham, time to gather up the small family.

Barry turned to Hal “Uh…what was that?” the Airman was equally baffled but quickly turning to tired resignation.

“Just do as he says, sometimes the headache is not worthy it”. If it was something mission-related Hal might have argued but since he had no objections…it was so not worthy it.

A few seconds later both frowned and this time it was Hal that voiced it, “He has a cousin?”

Two hours later they had theirs answer, Flash could feel his eyes widening and he knew that Hal had a similar reaction to his left. The first one to get out of the Zeta Bean was a brown haired man of medium height, glasses and curly hair, a face that would easily blend with the crowd if he so desired, closely followed by two children, a boy and a girl clearly related and then a teenager, finally a tall and lean woman, very dark brown hair in a ponytail and dressed casually in a light blouse and pencil skirt with flat shoes. The material of the blouse was light enough for a triangular light shine through and that gave her identity away even if it was partially hidden because of the toddler she was holding to her chest. Finally Batman stepped out too and finished the line.

The family very probably noticed them, it was impossible not to with Green Lantern shining like that and not even twelve foot away but they were paid no mind. With a last warning glare, Batman purposely closed the automatic doors to the east wing.

Lantern was still gawking but for a speedster it was normal for their mouth to be faster, “Toni Stark?” 

~*~

“Did you know about it?” Hal rounded on Clark the second the Kryptonian stepped into the Watchtower.

Well used to Hal’s shenanigans Clark only sighed, “Knew about what?”

“Bats’ cousin is Toni Stark, Iron Woman!” Barry’s arms were swinging widely, half excited, half incredulous.

Clark’s shoulders sagged and he sighed again, “It’s not like either of them ever hid it” but yeah, he could see why that would cause gossip, while neither hid it, not many knew about it. Clark himself found out by accident…and by being nosy.

He was in the Manor when a picture caught his attention. Aside from the huge family portrait in the main living room of the three ‘original’ Waynes and a couple of recent pictures of Jason and Dick with either Bruce or Alfred, his friend didn’t exactly had many reminders of his parents lying around so Clark was surprised to see a pretty big frame by the fireplace of two women, he recognized Bruce, probably 7 or 8 years old, meaning right before his parents died with a younger girl in the other woman’s arms.

The two women didn’t have many similarities physically, both were of the same height, blonde and very elegantly dressed but that was it, “Who are them?” before he could stop himself the question was out and Clark immediately had to hold back a wince, in his place the Kryptonian wouldn’t want to talk about his parents either.

But this time Bruce didn’t glower at him and left him there to marinate in his own guilt, he just sighed, “That’s my mother’s cousin, Maria Carbonell and my second cousin, Toni”

Clark frowned a little in concentration, “Carbonell…I heard that name before” the billionaire rolled his eyes.

“She used to be a socialite, married Howard Stark” and that made Clark’s brain snap.

“Oh my God! Your cousin is Toni Stark!” he didn’t even care about the very big grin on his face while he analyzed the picture better.

She was one cute kid, he smiled, not very unlike the 8 year old Bruce that was dressed in a white dress shirt, social black shorts, brown shoes and too long white socks, Toni was wearing a frilly pink and beige dress with white thighs and pink ribbons in her hair. Matching grimaces on their smalls faces. He couldn’t help himself, Clark cooed and gave a very silly grin, it was worth it even when Bruce completely ignored him for almost two weeks.

Back to the present, Clark was confronted by an incredulous Barry, “So you mean that anybody can just look it up in the internet?”

He could only shrug, “Anybody that cares to look I guess”. Considering how wealthy the Kanes and Carbonell were, it wouldn't be too difficult to connect the two women, however, regardless of how much money the respective families had, Howard Stark would outshine anyone with his spotlight tendencies and, Clark winced, Bruce already gave a short version that the Kanes were not happy when Martha married Thomas Wayne.

Maria Carbonell was a lot more discreet than her husband and the Waynes were discreet by nature, after both couples were dead, time and space apart made even the vultures of the gossip columns think about Toni Stark and Bruce Wayne as having just a couple of superficial things in common: billionaires, sluts, philanthropists.

~*~

“It is very impressive” Banner complimented looking out of the widow where he could only see stars and a tip of Earth.

The room was spacious and had another door leading to a corridor where three more rooms were occupied by Peter, Royce and Harley. Donnie's crib was in the couple's room.

“The launch was a little complicate, but once the main part was in orbit it was only a question of expanding the structure”

He nodded and turned to the masked and caped man, “Thanks again for doing this for Toni, Mr. Wayne”

Batman paused typing the security codes so the family could have some control over who comes and goes, “…when no one is around, Bruce is fine” and he had to hold back his own reaction at Dr. Banner’s sheepish grin.

“Yeah…I don’t think that’s a good idea” half amusing, half awkward indeed, “‘Batman’ ok around here? And in more social settings, I think Mr. Wayne will do”

Nodding, Batman gave him the codes and showed how to change the password, “May I talk to Toni?”

Dr. Banner 'ahed' before offering, “She went straight to bed but I can see if she is still awake”

He paused again, “No, it can wait” with a sweep of his cape, he left.

~*~


	5. Maria Carbonell and Martha Kane Part 5

Batman knocked on the door, “Come in”

He went inside to see Dr. Banner carefully tying Royce’s hair in a ponytail, Harley and Peter were waiting beside him with little Donnie in Peter’s arms.

“Is Stark awake?” as Bruce Wayne, he would have greeted them a little more warmly but the children didn’t know about his double life so sacrifices had to be made.

Royce stared at him in distrust while Harley’s eyes got comically wide but Peter Parker didn’t seem very phased. Of course, he rolled his eyes, the teenager had an intelligence that could rival his godmother’s and Dr. Banner’s the only thing separating them was the degrees and the experience, while Dr. Banner said that Harley was almost as smart, the boy didn’t know what to look for, unlike ‘Spider-Man’ that had field background.

“Good evening, Batman” Dr. Banner got up from where he was crouching, “She is but she isn’t  joining us for dinner” he motioned the rest of the kids, “But she is awake”

Without acknowledging any of them further, he walked towards the main room.

“Who is he?” the little girl asked.

“That’s Batman, he is the one that protects Gotham City” the brother, Harley answered.

Dr. Banner intervened before Peter could say anything, he almost smiled, academically smart but Dr. Banner also had some street smarts to him, “Ok, kids, let’s eat”

~*~

“I am taking the plug” her voice was small and emotionless, low…so unlike the Toni he remembered so unlike the Toni that the world has come to know and Bruce Wayne could only…what could he do?

“What exactly do you mean by that?” they were in the room that he gave them, secluded and safe even from his teammates, Toni’s husband and children were eating dinner in the cafeteria, Dr. Banner saying that he would bring back a plate that very probably would be left untouched.

“We…well, technically…” she took a deep breath and rubbed her chest area, around the Arc Reactor, “I gave Alpha access to Pepper, everything that I have ever hidden from the public so the Avengers could operate as they were…ever since Widow dumped all those files I put JARVIS and then Friday on the lookout to anything related to me or any of the others, a couple of weeks ago, after the whole mess in Leipzig…Friday put all her effort into Widow, Cap, Wilson, Barton, Maximoff and this new guy that I don’t know the name and to be honest I don’t care but what she found…”

Bruce waited but when her shoulders slumped and Toni averted her eyes, the fellow billionaire sighed, “Ms. Potts gave me all the information before sending you to Gotham” but Toni didn’t seem surprised by that if anything she looked a little amused and Bruce could only mourn the fact that there was no trace of a smile anywhere.

“Of course she did”

“So she will reveal everything in one single shot, that’s what you meant”

“Yeah, I don’t know…I covered up a lot of shit for them, perhaps this will backfire perhaps not, Pepper says that she has the right people to handle PR, she always does”

He thought about it, about perhaps helping Ms. Potts but as airheaded Brucie Wayne he didn’t have the politically savvy background to put weight behind it, he could give a few names to Ms. Potts though.

“What about you?”

Toni shrugged, “I don’t want anything to do with any of that, Pepper will call me when the dust has settled”

“No, how are you? With all of this? After all this?” Bruce only watched her shoulders twitching and then she bit her lip.

“I am a little numb. Like it hasn’t sunk in yet, there is just so much work to do and I didn’t have time to…Rhodey gave me this number of a therapist and…I don’t know, perhaps it can be a good idea after ‘the dust settled’”

~*~

“I think it is him”

“Are you sure? Not even their faces are alike”

“But he was the only one there and Hulk was missing”

“So what? That Maria Hill was also in the podium but she didn’t battle any of the aliens, and can you think about the Hulk just standing there?”

“You guys do know that we can hear everything, right?” Harley couldn’t take it anymore, were they dumb?

Flash, the one in the red spandex, note to self: make fun of Peter later, laughed sheepishly, “Sorry, er…hi, I’m Flash and this is Green Lantern” he smiled a little, the cowl not big enough to hide the blush on pale cheeks.

“We know who you are” the older teenager mumbled into his soup.

“Hi! I’m Royce, this is Donnie, Harley, Peter and Bruce” she finished pointing at her adoptive father, because they were sitting right next to each other, she ended up almost touching his nose, Bruce grabbed her finger and shook it a little as if greeting her, “No pointing, it’s rude”

The blonde girl pouted, “Toni does it all the time”

“It’s part of her charm” Bruce answered half joking, half deadpan.

“It can be part of **_my_** charm”

“No, it can’t” Peter and Harley answered in unison without even looking up from their meals to which Royce scowled at them.

“Er…right, pleased to meet you” Flash smiled a little hesitantly and then elbowed Green Lantern at his side that was still unashamedly staring at Bruce.

“Right!” he almost jumped, “Nice to meet you”

Bruce stared at them only for a couple of second before sighing, “Yes, my alter ego is the Oth… the Hulk and he is triggered by anger” he completed anticipating their next question.

Green Lantern grinned and sat down beside an alarmed Peter right in front of Bruce and Royce, Harley was at the head of the table and only lifted an eyebrow with Donnie in a highchair between him and Bruce cooing at everything, bright blue eyes inherited from his mother focusing on the newcomer.

“Seriously cool! There is even a meme of you and Thor defeating that… Leviathan thingy and then you punching him. That was so funny, dude”

Royce was grinning, Harley and Peter only stared at Green Lantern not knowing how to answer that, little Donnie staring wide eyed at everything and Flash chuckled uncomfortably.

“…thanks” Bruce couldn’t help the very small smile, the situation made him remember when he met Toni back at the Helicarrier.

Gulping a little and willing down the blush, Flash also took a seat next to his shameless friend, “How does it work, exactly?” that was a curiosity he had.

“The Hulk?”

“Yeah… I mean you…by yourself kinda broke the Law of Conservation of Mass” much to Barry’s relief, Dr. Banner laughed a little.

“Toni asked me the same thing” he explained, “We theorized that it was something in my genetics, anyone else would have died because of the radiation and, as you said, the conservation of mass seemly doesn’t apply to me, because if turned back into energy…”

“Everybody would notice” the fellow scientist winced much to Dr. Banner’s amusement.

“Yes, but I also don’t lose the muscles in big chunks. Due to recent events, Toni came up with the theory that perhaps the cellular decay works in reverse in my case, the starting materials would be the genetics in me that allow the radiation to build up instead of destroying. So far we have been unable to test it because that would require blood and tissue samples and my biology is also radioactive and although I could test myself, it would be impractical for me to make an entire lab inhabitable with Gama radiation to only confirm a theory”

Green Lantern ruffed, soon excited again, “But do you remember stuff from when you’re the Hulk?”

“Flashes, sometimes more, it depends”

Hal asked before Barry could step on his toe, “On what?”

“Whether or not I transform on my own free will” almost all of Barry’s breaths were coming out as sighs of relief when Dr. Banner only reacted with amusement.

“You can transform by will? Thought you said anger triggered the Hulk” emotional spectrum, of course, Barry smiled.

But this time Dr. Banner took a few seconds longer to answer, just enough to worry the speedster, finally he smiled a little self-depreciating and shrugged, “I’m always angry”

~*~

“That was so cool! Seriously, this guy would be **_the_** perfect candidate for a Red ring” Hal’s voice was getting faster and faster, “But I guess that then it would be a little Christmas-y” that made Barry choke and he quickly turned around just to make sure that the automatic doors to the cafeteria were closed.

“Aham”

“What is your problem?”

“Remember what Bats said?” he whispered but Hal only rolled his eyes.

“Oh please, he only asked us not to bother his cousin, nothing about the husband, the HULK husband” he said that as if that was all the excuse he needed.

“Trust you to take advantage on such a small detail that I’m pretty sure Bruce did not mean”


	6. Therapy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Only Marvel.  
> Main Pairing: Bruce Banner/Toni Stark (female)  
> Couple Therapy... of a sort.

Their marriage was quick and simple, not at all like the public and the media would expect of Toni Stark.

Regardless of what Bruce said when she asked, Toni couldn’t help but think that Donnie was the reason he proposed.

When they met back in 2012, it was rush of feelings. Shallow from meeting someone that could actually understand the other academically, their similar age (which almost never happens in conjunction with academic equality) and that the other was pretty easy on the eyes; to the deep understanding they had of each other, their past, their demons, their way of thinking.

So Toni being Toni… pounced on him. Bruce was still unsure of a permanent links, roots, residence. An actual life where he could have a steady job doing what he loved, friends, a girlfriend and the fact that with the Avengers and especially that the Other Guy could be useful for protection instead of destruction. Little by little, persistence from Toni and the routine that he fell back into made him relax even enjoy the life he now had, they dated for two years and then…

Then 2015 happened, Ultron, Johannesburg, Sokovia and Widow…and he had to leave. He just had to.

When he finally got access to a source of information, Bruce learned that Toni Stark has been out of the public eye for almost a year. Concern and guilty made him return to a cold Pepper and Rhodey that were completely unimpressed by the rest of the Avengers and that included him.

Bruce could have kicked himself in the face. Of course. With him gone and no evidence, Toni would absorb all the blame. For Ultron, for Johannesburg, for Sokovia. And the fact that Ste… that Rogers just stretched a red carpet for the Witch was…he almost turned green and only Rhodes’ remind that Toni already sacrificed herself enough without him destroying more stuff made him calm down in despair.

And then…he found out about Donnie. That he abandoned Toni when she was at her most vulnerable and he also abandoned…

Bruce had always told himself that either he would never become a father or he would never be like…like Brian Banner was and yet, the child wasn’t even born and he…what did he do? Bruce didn’t know that he had asked out loud until Pepper glowered and Rhodes shrugged, his lips in a tight line while gently pushing Pepper out of the room and closing the door leaving him alone with Bruce.

“Toni wasn’t mad, still isn’t” he informed when the silence stretched and Bruce snapped his head up, his incredulity must have shown because it dragged an unwilling smirk out of Rhodes before he reassumed the cold expression he had had so far, “Yeah, I don’t get that but then, I also don’t get why the hell is she banking Rogers, Maximoff and Romanov, they don’t even buy their own goddam clothes.”

So Bruce went and met Donnie that was born on December, 16, 2015; it was New Year’s Eve when Bruce came back, talked to a more or less surprised Toni and promised to stay. Toni only smiled and didn’t talk about that again and Bruce knew that he only had himself to blame. For a week, Bruce did nothing but thought about everything that happened. How he felt about Toni, his own flaws even the distant memories of childhood that he tried so hard to forget.

It took him another week to convince Toni that he was serious and that Donnie although an excuse wasn’t the cause, many talks about what changed in the last year, about Peter and Harley and Royce and even about him leaving, full of apologies, regret and a lot of emotional investment. And they were married on January, 17. He was 32, and she was 30.

Just them and the squire, Toni was wearing a white suit over an off-white shirt with a matching pencil skirt and he was wearing a black dress shirt and grey social pants, they exchanged the ‘I do’s and signed the papers. The only ones that even knew he was back, let alone married were Rhodey, Pepper, Happy, Toni’s brother, Arno and his cousin, Jennifer.

~*~

“Bottom line is, I love him, I really do but now that we are responsible for children, I can’t keep going the way I was, plagued by nightmares, workaholic to the point where I spent days without seeing another human being and…I need to make certain that my relationship with Bruce is as healthy as it can possibly get. I already decided that giving him up was not something that I am willing to do but I also need to be…more balanced myself and for that I need help, so…here I am”

~*~

1 – Flee or Fight.

Toni commented that she was seeing a therapist. Charles Xavier was the best person for the job for many reasons but Bruce wasn’t sure, not about the effectiveness, but to be effective in the first place there was the need to be open about very painful, very personal subjects that people just…they purposefully or unconsciously choose words that added a layer of protection for themselves. But she didn’t ask for him to go either.

And yet, couple of months later and Toni seemed lighter, smiled more, was more reserved but cared less when the Avengers inevitably turned to her to pay for their pizzas. Had less reclusive moments, opened up more to Harley and Royce and actively tried to be part of Peter’s life, even their marriage improved, she stopped sleeping in the very edge of the bed, slowly relaxing and reaching for him in the middle of the night.

Well, with empirical data and knowing that Bruce has at least as many issues dating as back as Toni’s, he decided to talk with Xavier.

“To be honest I would recommend that we have joined sessions so we can work on your relationship with Toni but as far as personal adjustments and development goes I have to suggest that you go to another professional, due to our many sessions I wouldn’t be unbiased as your doctor. Daniel Shomron is a good friend and very skilled psychiatrist” he reached for his briefcase and gave him a business card.

He booked a session for the next week. After a couple of months Bruce came to many realizations, some made him uncomfortable, some made him sigh in relief and some he just had to address ASAP.

“OK, let’s begin” Xavier smiled encouragingly at the couple.

“Well,” he glanced at his wife before muscling through, “I need…to talk about me leaving, after Ultron.”

“Very well, Toni?”

“Ok by me” she shrugged and that made Bruce see green.

“That, right **_there_** is what I don’t get!” but as always his anger didn’t faze her, it made her a little worried when his eyes turned green but she was never scared, he used to love it, to appreciate it, now Bruce just wished that Toni would fight him.

“What you don’t understand, Dr. Banner?” Xavier, right, the supposed ‘voice of reason’.

“This… lack of reaction! I had just as much part in Ultron and therefor in Sokovia as Toni, I LEAVE her when she is pregnant, doesn’t matter if I knew or not, I still left her to take the fall for something that I did too and **_nothing_**? I won’t include Johannesburg in this shit because that one is on Maximoff and Rogers for just enabling her.” there, out in the open, what he wanted to yell at her face since the first that she **_didn’t_** yell at his face.

And finally a reaction! He thought bitterly. Toni looked shocked by his outburst and then contemplative, “Toni? Out loud” Xavier prompted her.

“Look” she sighed, “even before my decision to see Xavier, I am… used to seeing things a little more… objectively or at least ignoring my own feelings. Bruce, I got involved with you and continued to date you up to Ultron and Sokovia, knowing who you are and how you acted, I tried to nudge you into opening up and becoming more assertive but at the same coin I didn’t want you to change in your fundaments. I love you the way you are, flaws and all, cliché as it is. Even before we met, I read about you, about Betty Ross, your psych profile but I also take pride in not judging people that I never even met mainly but not only because… well, I’m hardly in a position to do so.”

As Toni spoke, Bruce’s shoulders began to relax a little, even if they twitched at the mention of Betty but then he got angry and then sad, sighing and rubbing his face, Bruce couldn’t fault her but he had to make sure, no more misunderstandings, “Basically, you always thought that I would leave, so you weren’t angry when I did.”

But Toni only smiled a little, “Not exactly. I know you, Bruce, and I got involved with you knowing that there was a **_risk_** of one day waking up to an empty bed. The reason I never blamed you and never got angry with you is because it’s a flaw of yours. You are a runner. I knew it and I accepted it. Sometimes it is reasonable, if you can’t diffuse a bomb, you gotta get away from the blast radius.”

There was silence while Bruce contemplated it and compared to what Dr. Shomron said that if Bruce could accept that Toni was arrogant, didn’t ask for his opinions before doing stuff that affected them both and was always taking so much more than she could healthily handle, she could also accept his own flaws. And now, Bruce realizes he was angry not at Toni for accepting him as he was but at the fact that he couldn’t do the same.  He slumped in his chair.

“Bruce?” Xavier called his attention, “Take your time and don’t push yourself into voicing what you don’t want to”

He shook his head, “No, no. I just…I’m sorry, for yelling, for leaving, even if you don’t blame me, I blame myself and that…you’re not the one I am angry with.”

When there was silence once again, Xavier let a few more seconds before readjusting his chair, “If I may point out” he cleared his throat when both scientists’ eyes fell on him, they **_were_** pretty intimidating, especially together, he found himself pitying their kids, “Regardless of your respective, very impressive, resumes, both of you have very few things in common personality-wise but one of them is the capability of analyzing things without feelings getting in the way be that because of nurture or nature or a combination of both, that, however, can open the door for other problems such as miscommunication as the case with Bruce leaving proves. So what I want you to do is say what you will do, say what you’re feeling and explain the reason behind it”

Bruce could only chuckle nervously, “That will be…”

“Hell.” Toni deadpanned.

“Maybe at the beginning, that **_can_** easily spiral out of control so for now I will be acting as medium in a controlled environment. Let’s begin with the issue that Bruce brought up and what I meant when I said your personalities are opposites. Toni, will you be willing to share the conclusion we had in out last session?”

“That more often than not I take on too many fights, sometimes and especially even those that are not mine.” she recited a little robotically, it was logical, ringed truth and so well adjusted that when Toni came to the conclusion herself, she almost gagged.

“Keeping in mind that some of those ‘fights’ are not ones that can be won through yours fists but either way, you are good on either field. Bruce, can you say that you recognize that this is a personality trait of Toni’s?”

“Yes.”

“Do you see it as a flaw?”

“Sometimes, I guess. Sometimes it can be good.”

“Name one example of each.”

“I completely disagree with her instance of hiding Maximoff’s past, HYDRA and Johannesburg and concentrate all the blame on her, not us but only her, not to mention Maximoff helping Ultron but I understand that neither of us have any proof and about Ultron, the other Avengers involved would also need to testify and considering their ‘past in the past’ policy that they spill when it fits them, that is unlikely. And back in 2014 when SHIELD fell, Toni began to build the Avengers Compound and since then, she is the only one to face the consequences of all their mishaps, she is the one fighting to keep the Avengers afloat, when neither of us even have anything to do with them anymore…besides paying for their clothes, food and house. However, I admire this on her, she is brave for doing so, Toni is not ashamed to admit that she is wrong and works towards fixing her mistakes and not making the same one twice. She is never afraid of taking responsibility for her actions and facing the music like admitting that she was Iron Woman and taking full incumbency for her actions while operating the armor.”

As he finished, Bruce could see where this was going, he didn’t know what was on his face but Xavier had a knowing look on his.

“Toni? You called Bruce a ‘runner’ but you said that you accepted it and even called it ‘reasonable’, can you say one instance where you perceived it as a ‘flaw’ and when you thought it was ‘reasonable’?”

By Toni’s expression, she could also see where this was going, her answer got out through gritted teeth, “I understand that Bruce is afraid of what the Hulk can do, when the transformation is not of his own volition, he barely remembers if at all what he did while the Hulk was out. But I can’t help but think that we are all capable of destruction and he should have stayed to face the consequences and pleaded his case. I didn’t get mad with Johannesburg after Rogers just invited the Witch into **_my_** house, because it was hardly ideal if not crazy for Bruce to stay in the same place as her. Bruce knowing about it or not is inconsequential.”

“There you have it” Charles pointed out, “One of you considers tactical retreat, the other draws a line in the sand and keeps fighting there. Both mindsets have their merits. That is what I meant with improving even your respective personal and professional lives by a simple talk, sharing not only your problems but a different way of solving them.”

~*~

 


End file.
